The bakery items, which are placed on a small table in the entryway of the health center, are free for the taking for patients.

Zestos, a ministry based in Alton, delivers bread andbuns to Promise Community Health Center in SiouxCenter on Mondays and Fridays. The bakery itemsare free for the taking for patients in the entryway.

By the end of the day, the items usually are gone.

“We’re so thankful to Zestos for partnering with Promise in this way,” said Derrick Vander Waal, public relations officer for Promise. “Promise strives to offer holistic care for our patients and to help them out in any way that we can, so this is just another small way that we can do that. Nutrition is an important aspect of health.”

In February, representatives from Promise were visiting Primary Health Care in Des Moines and noticed that it had a table full of bakery items available for its patients. The health center had found it to be an excellent way to serve its patients. And patients appreciated it.

“That got us thinking that we could do the same,” Vander Waal said.

Shortly thereafter, Eric Geels, the community outreach coordinator for Zestos, reached out to Promise to learn more about the services that Promise provides to underserved people in the area – the same type of people the Zestos ministry also reaches out to.

The nonprofit organization provides food, clothing and other necessities, as well as transitional housing, to people who need it throughout northwest Iowa, but Geels said that Zestos desires to bring an even more holistic approach to its ministry. Therefore, it was interested in partnering with other organizations in the area.

Patients can grab a loaf of bread or a dozenbuns on the way out of the door at PromiseCommunity Health Center, thanks to apartnership with the Zestos ministry.

As a result of the conversation, Zestos started delivering the bread and buns twice every week as one small way to partner with Promise. Zestos collects the bakery items – as well as other food items that otherwise might be thrown away – from various sources and distributes the food in a multitude of ways to people. Promise is one of the outlets.

Geels said Promise is “a great organization to partner with” on the project.

“Promise is doing great things for people in our community; they reach a similar population we are trying to reach,” he said. “We want to get food into the hands of people who need it, and we feel Promise is interacting with people who could use some of this food. It’s a pretty simple partnership for us, but if one family is coming away with a loaf or two of bread they need for the weekend, it’s totally worth it.”

He also views Promise as a valuable resource for Zestos.

“Some clients that we serve are uninsured or under-insured, and so having a connection to Promise is great for us so that we can get the medical attention these clients need at affordable costs,” Geels said.

Promise also admires Zestos.

“Zestos is doing great work in the community,” Vander Waal said. “The people involved in the ministry have a great passion for loving their neighbors in the community and caring for them in a compassionate way.”

Thursday, March 23, 2017

SIOUX CENTER – Rebecca Baatz was attracted to Promise Community Health Center because she saw it as an organization with “a strong passion and wonderful mission.”

Now, she will play a key role in helping Promise advance its mission.

Rebecca Baatz is excited to helpPromise Community Health Centerin Sioux Center advance its missionin her new executive assistant role.

Baatz recently assumed the position of executive assistant at Promise.

“I feel a genuine warmth and passionate spirit of all striving toward a common goal of bringing out the best in people,” she said.

Baatz grew up in Hull and graduated from Boyden-Hull High School in 1999. She earned a double-major in early childhood and elementary education from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls in 2003.

She then served as the director and preschool teacher at Tots on Ten child-care center in Paullina for a year and worked as a scheduler and child-care assistant at Early Childhood Center in Sioux Center for 10 years. For the past three years, she served as the executive assistant and business office manager at Fieldcrest Assisted Living in Sheldon.

Baatz now moves into a similar role at Promise. She thinks her experience and desire to learn will make her a good fit.

“I truly hope in my position I can offer a helping hand when needed,” she said. “I enjoy keeping busy and being a support system to others. A teamwork atmosphere where it feels more like family than a job is what I desire."

Promise Community Health Center of Sioux Center is the only Federally Qualified Health Center serving the far northwest corner of Iowa. Promise provides medical, prenatal, dental, vision and behavioral health services. To learn more, visit www.promisechc.org and watch this video.MORE ABOUT REBECCA:Rebecca Baatz and her husband, Chad, live in Hospers and have four children, Dylan, 19, Hailey, 14, Hannah, 11, and Cason, 3. In her free time, she enjoys watching her husband race at the Primghar Figure 8 track in the summers, bargain shopping, cleaning, going out to eat, and spending time with family and friends.

Monday, March 20, 2017

Her grandmother was a nurse, and she has numerous aunts and cousins who are nurses, so Cave went into the nursing field, too.

Mylicah Cave has assumed the position ofclinic nurse at Promise Community HealthCenter in Sioux Center. She has served asa nurse in a variety of settings throughoutthe years and now is happy to be servingpatients at a community health center.

She has served patients for the past decade and a half and recently assumed her new role of clinic nurse at Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center.

“I like the hands-on part of nursing – of being able to minister to the whole person,” she said.

Cave grew up in Sergeant Bluff and graduated from high school there in 1998. She later went on to Western Iowa Technical Community College in Sioux City, where she earned her licensed practical nurse degree in 2005 and her registered nurse degree in 2008.

She has served in various nursing-type roles throughout the years since 2000, including working in long-term care, private nursing, home health and hospice, and medical clinic settings.

She now looks forward to gaining experience in a community health center environment at Promise. She hopes to bring a strong work ethic and desire to learn while helping people to her service at the health center.

“I have always been interested in working in a clinic that offers services that meet the needs of the whole person,” Cave said, noting, in particular, that she intrigued by the holistic care provided by the certified nurse midwives.

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

SIOUX CENTER – Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center will give a $10 grocery gift card to every eligible person who completes a home stool test for colorectal cancer during National Colon Cancer Awareness Month in March.

The health center places that much importance on people being screening.

Anyone who is between the ages of 50-75 and who has not had a colonoscopy in the last 10 years or has not completed a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) in the last 12 months will be eligible to receive the gift card to Fareway or Hy-Vee. All they have to do is receive a FIT kit from Promise, complete the test and mail it back in during March.

Promise Community Health Center staff dressed upfor Dress in Blue Day on Friday, March 3, to increaseawareness about colorectal cancer as part of NationalColon Cancer Awareness Month. Promise encouragespeople ages 50-75 to complete a home FIT screening to prevent or catch colorectal cancer in its early stages.

Colorectal cancer, which is cancer of the colon or rectum, is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But, it’s also one of the most preventable and treatable cancers if detected early.

That’s why Promise has signed the “80% by 2018” pledge of the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable to regularly screen at least 80 percent of its patients ages 50 or older by 2018.

“It goes along with our focus on preventative care,” said Amy McAlpine, quality and compliance director for Promise. “We screen for a lot of different health issues at Promise. We recognize this is also an important one. We’ve found this is one that a lot of patients don’t know about. They do need to get screened if they are in that age range.”

FIT has been proven to be an effective screening tool for colorectal cancer. The noninvasive test, which is completed at home, detects hidden blood in a person’s stool. The test should be completed every year. For established Promise patients, they can call to have a FIT kit mailed to them or arrange to pick one up. For new patients, they are encouraged to schedule an appointment with one of Promise’s providers – Dr. Del Lassen or nurse practitioners Tana Kass and Beth Strub – to receive the FIT kit.

The FIT kit includes detailed instructions and materials that patients need to collect the samples and mail them back to Promise. The samples then will be tested, and if results are positive for hidden blood, a colonoscopy will be required for further investigation.

FIT is a low-cost test. Most insurance policies cover most or all of the cost. For low-income people who do not have insurance or their insurance does not cover the test, Promise’s sliding-fee scale will reduce the cost to as low as $15 depending on their household income.

To receive the $10 gift card, the samples just need to be mailed in by March 31.

McAlpine urges people to do the simple screening for colorectal cancer.

“It’s highly beatable when caught early,” she said. “Treatment is a lot more successful in the early stages.”

For more information or to receive a FIT kit, call Promise at 712-722-1700.

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. The awareness effort advocates for the importance of lifesaving colorectal screenings. Promise Community Health Center has signed the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable’s “80% by 2018” pledge for screening rates among patients ages 50 or older.

WHAT IS COLORECTAL CANCER?

Colorectal cancer is cancer of the colon or rectum.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 140,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer every year, and more than 50,000 people die from it. Colorectal cancer affects men and women equally.

The cancer usually starts from precancerous polyps, or growths, in the colon or rectum. The colon is the large intestines, and the rectum is the passageway that connects the colon to the anus. Over time, the polyps can turn into cancer. Screening tests – ranging from a home fecal immunochemical test (FIT) to a colonoscopy – can find precancerous polyps so that they can be removed before turning into cancer. The screenings are important because they can detect polyps or cancer before people experience any symptoms.

More than 90 percent of colorectal cancers occur in people ages 50 or older, according to the CDC. Some people have higher risk factors.

Stefanie Ayala has assumed her positionas a medical assistant/interpreter atPromise Community Health Center inSioux Center. She hopes her positivepersonality will help patients have agreat experience at the health center.

“I believe it’s so crucial that the people in this community feel confident and welcome when they come to our health center, especially our Spanish-speaking community members,” Stefanie said. “I can imagine I would be reluctant to seek health care if I felt like I couldn’t communicate with my health-care professional.”

Stefanie lived in Hull as a child and graduated from Sioux Center High School in 2008. A few years later, she went on to Western Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City, where she earned an associate’s degree in police science in 2014.

She served a summer internship in 2014 as a park ranger for the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks at Angostura State Park in Hot Springs. She then worked as a correctional officer at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, SD, for a year and as a casino security office in Las Vegas, NV, for another year before moving back to northwest Iowa.

Even though her previous experience primarily has been in the law enforcement field, she dealt with many medical situations as a first responder. Therefore, she thought working at Promise would be a good opportunity for her.

Stefanie hopes she can bring “tons of positivity” to her position so that patients will have a great experience and will want to come back to the health center for care.

“I’m the epitome of a bubbly and positive person,” she said. “You can always catch me with a smile on my face or laughing. I can always get a smile or a laugh out of a patient that I am assisting. I believe it’s important when a patient can relax and feel comfortable at our clinic because, that way, they are more apt to discuss any issue and be more open to recommendations and advice from the medical professionals.”

She has been impressed by Promise.

“It is a great organization,” Stefanie said. “It has opened its doors to everyone in the community. Promise is like that one neighbor you can always count on no matter what.”

Promise Community Health Center of Sioux Center is the only Federally Qualified Health Center serving the far northwest corner of Iowa. Promise provides medical, prenatal, dental, vision and behavioral health services. To learn more, visit www.promisechc.org and watch this video. To read more Promise news, visit promisechcnews.blogspot.com.MORE ABOUT STEFANIE:Stefanie Ayala lives in Boyden and has an 8-year-old daughter, Paola. In her spare time, she loves reading, traveling and spending time outdoors.